Meetings Today Podcast

Feeling boxed in and not recognized for your accomplishments? Lifelong hospitality industry veteran Dr. Lalia Rach has a prescription to help you manage your evolution within your profession, and in particular women executives and those climbing the organizational ladder. The author of Managing the Book on YOU!, who is also executive managing director of Strategic Consulting Service, a division of ALHI, and founding dean of the NYU Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, shares her experience being “born into” the hospitality industry, how she elevated NYU’s meeting planning certificate program into an undergraduate degree program and her work helping hospitality industry professionals via her consulting work with global luxury hotel sales powerhouse ALHI.

Georgia World Congress Authority (GWCA), which owns and operates Atlanta’s 200-acre Convention Campus, including the Georgia World Congress Center, prides itself on sustainability. From bee hives to its Intentional Gatherings program, launching the Making HERstory Tea for Women's History Month, career-building efforts for local youth and DEI and food rescue efforts, the Georgia World Congress Authority excels at giving back to its community as well as the world. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson sat down with Shavannia Williams, director of strategic partnerships for Georgia World Congress Authority, to see how the organization’s “People, Planet, Performance” motto can inspire meetings and conventions.

Like many of the leading issues that were top of mind until the pandemic sucked all the oxygen out of the room, in-person event risk management is once again being discussed as the industry ramps up to pre-pandemic levels and attendees are traveling for meetings. But while DEI and sustainability have regained their status as key industry concerns as the pandemic wanes, many believe now is the time to elevate risk management back to its pre-pandemic prominence. Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with Gary LaBranche, CEO of Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) at ASAE's 2023 Annual Meeting & Exposition, to push the reset button on this critical topic. Included in the conversation are tips on how you can ensure the safety of your attendees, an active-shooter situation that impacted RIMS's RISKWORLD event in Atlanta in May, as well as how RIMS is teaming with ASIS and ASAE to develop a risk management toolkit that will help planners keep their events safe.

KiKi L'Italien, CEO and host of Association Chat, an online community for the association industry, always calls it like she sees it, and her observations from ASAE 2023 are no exception. From association talent pipeline struggles and the impact of AI to what she believes is the curious lack of a hybrid component at "The Super Bowl of Meetings," L'Italien is one of the leading, authentic voices covering the world of associations and meetings technology. Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson caught up with L'Italien at ASAE's 2023 Annual Meeting in Atlanta for a frank discussion about the state of the associations segment and what she's hearing from her large audience of association professionals.

Non-profit organization CreatiVets helps veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries by teaming them with songwriters to share what are sometimes their most guarded experiences and emotions. Meetings Today got to experience the concept of this musical magic firsthand when it brought in CreatiVets to facilitate the writing of songs about meeting and event planning at its Meetings Today LIVE! South event in Nashville as part of a CSR program. In this Meetings Today Podcast, Vice President & Chief Content Director Tyler Davidson discusses the mission of CreatiVets with Brett Gillan, its program director. Discover how you can help this amazing organization help our veterans through its unique form of music therapy.

Curious about generative AI and its applications in the meetings industry...but didn't know to ask? Meetings technology expert educator Jim Spellos previews his upcoming webinar, "Everything You Need to Know About AI...But Didn't Know to Ask," on this disruptive technology and the benefits and risks of its use. While the ramifications--and possible regulations--regarding generative AI are yet to truly reveal themselves, Spellos will get you up to date on where were at as the adoption curve seems primed to rapidly ascend.

Fresh from participating in Maritz Global Events' Innovation Lab at IMEX Frankfurt, Amy Kramer, innovation leader for the global events leader, discussed the "new language of events," which includes disruptive technology such as NFTs, the Metaverse and generative AI. How close are meeting and event planners to including these new technologies in their programs, and how are younger meeting and event attendees driving the adoption trend. Discover what's around the corner for your events, and how sustainability is still a major concern as in-person and hybrid meetings come charging back and looking much different than ever before. Stay ahead of the curve!

Wolfgang Puck transformed the way Americans thought about cuisine and is the O.G. celebrity chef. Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson asked Puck about his journey to become a entrepreneurial cuisine legend, the 25th anniversary of Wolfgang Puck Catering and what he believes his legacy will be. Along the way, the Austrian-born chef dishes out stories about some of the entertainment industry celebrities that frequented his legendary Spago restaurant, how he emerged from the back of the kitchen to become an F&B icon, and the continuing evolution of high-profile events catering.

Leading Asian American inclusivity consultant Jolene Jang discusses the many facets of the Asian American and Pacific Islander culture and the challenges faced by this massive demographic in the meetings and events industry. From assimilation and the complexity and wide scope of the myriad AAPI cultures to safety issues and representation, Jang is a staunch advocate for inclusion. and moving the industry forward. Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson engaged Jang to get her take during this podcast discussing the state of AAPI people and cultures in the meetings and events industry as Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month comes to a close.

Meetings Today sat down with Eugene Blabey, director of event planning and operations at Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West Hotel, to discuss the unique ways in which the hotel infuses local culture into its offerings, welcomes guests to a "West of Zen" experience and provides top-tier meeting services through the R.E.N. Meetings program, offering planners opportunities to try something different when they gather their groups at Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West Hotel.